Richt: Samuel 'solid No. 1' at tailback

Posted: Saturday, August 22, 2009

By Marc Weiszer

Georgia now has a clear-cut leader to be its starting tailback for the Sept. 5 opener at Oklahoma State: sophomore Richard Samuel.

Coach Mark Richt Friday called Samuel "a solid No. 1," the first time this preseason that he's declared one tailback had moved ahead of all the others in the much-watched competition to replace Knowshon Moreno as starter.

"He seems to be in control of what he's supposed to do," Richt said. "He's giving people confidence right now."

The 6-foot-2, 216-pound Cartersville product actually moved to the head of the Bulldogs tailback pack, Richt said, when he rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns on five carries in Georgia's first preseason scrimmage Aug. 12. He also scored on a 70-yard reception.

Caleb King, a redshirt sophomore who began the preseason No. 1, sustained a hamstring injury in that scrimmage and hasn't returned to practice since.

"We would have rated Richard No. 1 after the scrimmage regardless of any injury, but we're anxious to get Caleb back healthy, I can promise you that," Richt said.

Carlton Thomas, the 5-foot-7, 180-pound redshirt freshman, had been sharing first-team work with Samuel, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said earlier this week.

Thomas led all rushers with 90 yards in Georgia's second scrimmage ("Carlton certainly has done a very nice job, too"), but Samuel already had moved ahead.

"He's a guy that just runs the ball hard," linebacker Rennie Curran said. "He's not going to wow you with his moves or anything like that, but he just runs it hard and runs it tough and takes those yards where he needs to. That definitely makes you feel good to see somebody with a lot of passion and a lot of effort with what he's doing. He takes a lot of pride in running that ball."

Richt indicated that it's too early to know whether Samuel can carry the load for the Bulldogs at the position or whether Georgia would use multiple backs.

"I think we'll only know that once we start playing," Richt said. "He's shown some flashes where he runs hard, he plays hard, he seems to just to have a much more comfortable air about him."

Samuel rushed for 133 yards on 26 carries last season with a touchdown. Samuel never got more than eight carries in a game, but Richt said Samuel has shown signs of becoming a stronger runner later in practices.

"He's playing with a lot of energy," Richt said. "In some of these practices, I've seen at the end of the practice that he's still blazing a trail pretty good and when the other guys fatigue, all of a sudden he looks even faster."